Premier Giorgia Meloni on Monday
reiterated her call for the European Union to do more to address
the problem of soaring energy prices.
Speaking via video link to the 'festival of the regions' event
in Milan, she said that it was "clear to everyone" that the
post-COVID Next Generation EU programme was "no longer
sufficient" because "it could not take into consideration the
impact that the Ukraine war has had on our economies".
Italy has been allocated almost 200 billion euros in grants and
low-interest loans for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan
(NRRP) to make its economy more modern and Greener as part of
the Next Generation EU programme.
"It is necessary to do more today at the EU level, starting with
the problem of expensive energy," the premier said.
"The pandemic and then the war have projected us into a
completely new world, a new geopolitical situation in which it
is not possible to do without unity and cohesion at all levels
and we cannot fail to have a long-term vision," she added.
"Our structural problems are primarily the product of the
short-sighted policies of the past, starting with those
regarding energy.
"In the past the EU and many member States, including Italy,
preferred to increase their level of reliance on other nations
instead of working to implement measures that strengthened
production, independence and national energy security".
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